Weapons of long-ago conflicts still haunt people of Laos

Weapons of long-ago conflicts still haunt people of Laos. Decommissioning teams in Laos continue searching for unexploded ordnance in paddy fields, forests and rural pastures as the country prepares to host a review conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The article describes Thong Phet, an 18-year-old novice monk in 1973, whose pasture near Ban Napia in northeastern Laos was struck by an unexploded device; he survived but lost his left arm below the elbow and suffered serious injury to his right hand. Xiangkhouang Province, about 100 kilometers east of the area, was targeted due to its connection with the Pathet Lao movement and North Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh trail. From 1964 to 1973, more than 2 million tons of explosive ordnance were dropped on Laos, with cluster bombs feared for leaving submunitions that failed to detonate. The teams use detectors to mark and excavate signals, hoping to confirm specific sites are safe.